California Apparel News

The Jan. 23–25 run of the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo (ASR) at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif., carried the theme: “Where Leaders Take Orders.”

Show organizers said the theme referred to the millions of dollars worth of orders placed by buyers and distributors, even though ASR traditionally has not been as much of an order-writing show as it has been an overview of the actionsports market.

The serious theme carried on throughout the show, which had fewer parties and deejays than previous years. Josh Woodbury, a spokesperson for ASR, said that the buyer attendance was running at the same level as last year’s show by the second day of registration.

“Pre-registration is right in line with what it’s been in the past, not up or down,” he said. “Exhibitors are also the same—status quo.”

Organizers also took a serious approach to registration— sending many buyers and journalists badges in advance to eliminate the long registration lines of past years.

“I think we’ve been successful in pre-registering a lot of buyers and media, so they can have their badge and come in the show and have access in no time, which is a convenient thing,” said Woodbury. “They don’t come here to wait in line.”

The traffic report from the show floor was mixed. Most, however, agreed that prominent labels and those that booked appointments in advance were busier than others.

“All you have to do is walk by Ambiguous, Quiksilver or Billabong to see that the show is very busy,” said Dick Baker, chief executive officer of Irvine, Calif.-based Ocean Pacific. “We definitely have significantly more appointments at this show than last year this time.”

Baker said that OP has moved away from the traditional party vibe of exhibiting to a more business-focused presentation, as evidenced by the campany’s conservative booth at ASR.

“We’re expected to do something very different at every show,” he said. “We’ve gone from having dancing girls to send the message that OP’s back, to the current message of, ’We’re doing business.’”

OP was showing its OP Classic label, a revival of popular OP styles from the ’70s and ’80s, as well as its new Seven2 label, a smaller, edgier collection that incorporates streetwear trends.

“The OP Classic is back and taking off, and, while Seven2 is getting its feet established, OP Classic is definitely driving the bus,” Baker said.

Planning in advance

Appointments were key at the Third Rail booth, according to Ron Walden, vice president of sales for the Los Angeles- based company who was formerly with MAGIC International.

“I’ve been doing shows for 13 years, and my advice to manufacturers is that you have to make appointments and when you’re not working, you have to be standing in the aisles looking for the badges and coaxing people into your booth,” he said. “A trade show is a medium to conduct business, and it’s your responsibility to get the people in. That’s why we make sure we have a nice booth presence and that we make our presence felt with the promotional things we do and the phone calls to retail.”

Appointments can be used to gauge a trade show’s retail presence, Walden said. He added that, based on his observations, attendance seemed slow, but the show was still productive for Third Rail.

“Traffic is down a bit, but the show is serving its purpose for us, which is to maintain our presence in the marketplace, work with our local retailers that we haven’t had a chance to see and to preview our Fall line to get an early read on it before we go to MAGIC,” he said. “The show is going well for us because we use it as a marketing tool.”

Keeping the energy high

Irvine-based Billabong kept the excitement up in the booth with a runway show that featured the company’s latest collection.

But still, the company counted on its appointments, which remained strong throughout the first two days of the show, according to Jessica Trent Nichols, Billabong’s marketing manager.

“We had people coming back, wanting to see the girls try on more stuff yesterday,” she said. “Our booth has been steady the whole time, with appointments as good as they’ve ever been. It’s been a really great turnout, and it’s really exciting.”

Key items at Billabong were the swimsuits, which the company gave a more contemporary look this season, Trent Nichols said.

“Our swim is the best swim we’ve ever done,” she said. “It’s a lot more sophisticated, with the colors and the styles— not just for the teenage girl, but also for the 20-something girls.”

The party vibe was still going strong at the Volcom booth, where sales reps were dressed in Mexican party gear and fiesta music blasted into the aisles. Tortillas with the Volcom logo stenciled on them were strewn throughout the booth, across the aisle and outside the Convention Center.

The Costa Mesa, Calif.-based company chose to break its denim-driven Fall collection at ASR, which helped attract buyers to the booth, according to Tom Ruiz, Volcom’s vice president of sales.

“If we hadn’t broken our Fall line at this show, it probably would have been slow for us,” he said. “We’re booked solid, and it’s a little up from last year.”

Retailers from home and abroad

Retailers hailed from around the country, as well as the world, including companies from Greece, France, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Australia and Brazil. Still, not everyone showed up to the party. Some retailers, such as the Buckle teen chain from Kearney, Neb., and specialty boutique True from San Francisco, bypassed ASR with plans to attend MAGIC International.

Even some buyers noted the muted enthusiasm of the show, claiming that retailers have less of a need to attend.

“Lots of companies are starting to come to Europe and attend the ISPO show in Munich, so we’ll decide if we’ll come again to ASR,” said Turtko Filetin, executive director of Wulf Sport, a 12-store chain in Zagreb, Croatia.

Regarding trends, Filetin said that he noticed a growing fashion element in shoes, such as the brown and suede shoes by Ipath.

“That influence is good for Europe, where shoes are for sport and looks,” he said.

Curtis Hidalgo, a menswear buyer for Anaheim, Calif.-based Pacific Sunwear, was looking out for anything he missed for Summer and for Fall previews. His focus was on skate and surf T-shirts.

“T-shirts are doing extremely well for us, especially brands like NHS, Element and Volcom,” he said.

For some, the tough year prompted retailers to re-evaluate their merchandising mix and keep their winners. Lem Lucia, owner of two Beach Break stores in Saint George, Utah, has cut back on stocking snowboards, women’s swimwear and men’s pants.

“We’re focusing on mainly our strengths—shoes, shirts, hats and men’s shorts,” he said, noting that he planned to spend about 25 percent less compared with the last ASR show.

Jack’s Surfboards owner Ron Abdel Fattah said business at his four stores has been strong the past year, but threats of a recession keep him cautious.

“We’re buying the same as last year,” he said, noting that the company plans to stick to its core brands, such as Quiksilver and Volcom.

He noted that wet-suit interest was growing, especially for O’Neill’s designs.

The mood may have been a bit more serious on the show floor, but this year, attendees had their choice of more actions- sports events at the show, said ASR’s Woodbury. New events included the Freestyle Motorcross Show and the fusion of music, action sports and style on the Fender Concert Stage. The traditional vert ramps and street courses were still in place.

ASR, organized by VNU Expositions, produces four trade shows each year, in Atlantic City, N.J.; Huntington Beach, Calif.; Long Beach, Calif.; and San Diego, Calif. The ASR Fall show, formerly called ASR Back2Skool, is scheduled for Mar. 11–12 in Huntington Beach, Calif.